Isaiah 54

₁Jerusalem, you have been like a childless woman,

but now you can sing and shout for joy.

Now you will have more children

than a woman whose husband never left her!

₂Make the tent you live in larger;

lengthen its ropes and strengthen the pegs!

₃You will extend your boundaries on all sides;

your people will get back the land

that the other nations now occupy.

Cities now deserted will be filled with people.

₄Do not be afraid — you will not be disgraced again;

you will not be humiliated.

You will forget your unfaithfulness as a young wife,

and your desperate loneliness as a widow.

₅Your Creator will be like a husband to you —

the LORD Almighty is his name.

The holy God of Israel will save you —

he is the ruler of all the world.

₆Israel, you are like a young wife,

deserted by her husband and deeply distressed.

But the LORD calls you back to him and says:

₇“For one brief moment I left you;

with deep love I will take you back.

₈I turned away angry for only a moment,

but I will show you my love for ever.”

So says the LORD who saves you.

₉“In the time of Noah I promised

never again to flood the earth.

Now I promise not to be angry with you again;

I will not reprimand or punish you.

₁₀The mountains and hills may crumble,

but my love for you will never end;

I will keep for ever my promise of peace.”

So says the LORD who loves you.

“O Jerusalem, you suffering, helpless city,

with no one to comfort you,

I will rebuild your foundations with precious stones.

₁₂I will build your towers with rubies,

your gates with stones that glow like fire,

and the wall around you with jewels.

₁₃“I myself will teach your people,

and give them prosperity and peace.

₁₄Justice and right will make you strong.

You will be safe from oppression and terror.

₁₅Whoever attacks you

does it without my consent;

whoever fights against you will fall.

₁₆“I create the blacksmith,

who builds a fire and forges weapons.

I also create the soldier,

who uses the weapons to kill.

₁₇But no weapon will be able to hurt you;

you will have an answer for all who accuse you.

I will defend my servants

and give them victory.”